September 26, 2013

Bill Callahan on Brian Waters: We know the quality of play he brings to the game

Brian Waters said Wednesday he was ready to start and play the entire game. The Cowboys appear ready for that to happen too.

"We think so," Cowboys offensive coordinator Bill Callahan said Thursday. "We’ll see how it goes tomorrow, and we’ll adjust it accordingly. We have a lot of confidence in both he and Mackenzy [Bernadeau], so we’ll see how it plays out, but I think there’s been good communication along the lines of where he is from a strength and conditioning standpoint, and also in terms of where his stamina is. We’re going to watch that carefully, and we just don’t want to force him to play an entire game if his body’s not ready. We’re watchful of that. We know the quality of play he brings to the game. We’ll go from there. We’ll monitor how he’s going, and there will be communication in terms of how he’s working and how he feels throughout the course of the game."

Waters signed with the Cowboys on Sept. 3. He was inactive for the season opener and played 18 plays in Week 2 against the Chiefs. He and Bernadeau alternated series last week against St. Louis, with Waters getting 31 of 62 snaps.

Waters, 36, had not played an NFL game since start Super Bowl XLVI for the Patriots to end the 2011 season. He sat out last season.

"We thought there would be a natural progression to a lineman coming into training camp," Callahan said. "For the veteran linemen playing that first preseason game of 10-12 snaps or 14 snaps and then playing a quarter and then playing a half. We believe the progression has helped him. We just didn’t want to throw him out there and force him into a situation he wasn’t physically ready for. Now, is he mentally tough enough to do that? Sure, he could do that. But I think in all fairness to him and our team, we want him to be in the best possible condition so he could play at the highest level."